Any Success with Resin Printers

[bford903]

The company I recently started working for bought an Ember for testing. I never mentioned anything about value proposition; merely that it is a viable option as far as resin printers go. Since the software is still in beta, they currently have a different process for loading files onto the printer, but it's not difficult. When you load your file onto the Ember website to convert it to the file type the Ember uses, you have the option to print with any resin you want and the optimum settings are already loaded, put there by the community. However, you can tweak the settings to your heart's desire if you wish. It also integrates with that 3D scanner app, 123D Catch, but I haven't tested that yet. As far as "open source" goes, I'm not a tinkerer, but it is available if you're so inclined.

I've never used a Form1+ so I cannot speak about quality and ease of use, but I can tell you that the Ember "just works" and prints very well. I'm very impressed with what I've seen from the Form1+ as well. A representative from FormLabs was nice enough to send me some sample prints last year; a ring in their castable material, and the "twisted rook" which I have on display in my home.

The company I work for does not sell the Ember. I'm just saying that for the last few weeks I've been testing it, and I like it.

[Brumbaer]

I use a B9Creator a resin printer dor printing miniatures.

i usually print very small miniatures - a man sized miniature is 6mm high.

Samples on my website : http://brumbaer.de/index.php/3d-printing

Check out the airfield, especially the tower interior.

Or the Ork army under http://brumbaer.de/index.php/epic-armageddon/35-orks

For larger models look at the Goblin Trombone or the Bastion or The Fortress.

The detail of the printer is fantastic way better than Filament printers (I own an Ultimaker as well). The models are sturdy enough for play, but do not match the strength of ABS or even PLA.

[awerby]

The nice thing about the B9 resin is that you can invest it in a mold, burn it out and cast metal into the resultant void. If strength's important to you, have them cast in bronze. Considering the size of your parts, it shouldn't cost too much.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[Brumbaer]

The nice thing about the B9 resin is that you can invest it in a mold, burn it out and cast metal into the resultant void. If strength's important to you, have them cast in bronze. Considering the size of your parts, it shouldn't cost too much.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

HellobAndrew,
despite being true, the argument doesn't count fot the comparison of printing technologies, as it adds an additional time and money consuming step not inherent to the technology.

it's like saying a small build space is no disadvantage, because you can divide a large model into smaller parts. Or like saying that you can increase the surface quality of a fdm print with vapour and use a milling machine to add the missing fine details.

The B9 is the right tool for most things I do, but there are one or two things the Ultimaker 2 is better suited for.

[CarterTG]

With my older standard-def v1.1 B9 printer, Red resin worked fine and I printed nearly a jug's worth before seeing faint clouding. It was only when testing that printer with the then-new Cherry resin, I needed to crank the layer exposure times to around 14 seconds... that's about the limit for PDMS at that lumen level.

My recent results with the new v1.2 B9 Creator HD:

http://b9c.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f...art=120#p32398

In addition to the insane detail, the HD projector brings a higher power lamp... this means that each layer's exposure time is only in the 1-2 second range. All the moaning about PDMS clouding is a thing of the past with the new machine. Almost 30 print sessions with a combo of Black and Cherry prints and the PDMS remains crystal clear.


BlackCherry.jpg

[abc0903]

I have the same question with you, I know B9 and form1+ are all good, but they are too expensive for me. I recently find another printer, XYZprinting Nobel, it is only 1499, I just don't know how it performance. But according to some review it looks not bad.

[wachuko]

Impressive work!!!

I use a B9Creator a resin printer dor printing miniatures.

i usually print very small miniatures - a man sized miniature is 6mm high.

Samples on my website : http://brumbaer.de/index.php/3d-printing

Check out the airfield, especially the tower interior.

Or the Ork army under http://brumbaer.de/index.php/epic-armageddon/35-orks

For larger models look at the Goblin Trombone or the Bastion or The Fortress.

The detail of the printer is fantastic way better than Filament printers (I own an Ultimaker as well). The models are sturdy enough for play, but do not match the strength of ABS or even PLA.

[Brumbaer]

I have the same question with you, I know B9 and form1+ are all good, but they are too expensive for me. I recently find another printer, XYZprinting Nobel, it is only 1499, I just don't know how it performance. But according to some review it looks not bad.

The best will be to get a sample of one of your designs printed on the printer your interested on.
The xy resolution is specified with 0.3 mm, which is very low, if it is voxel to voxel distance. If it is feature size it it not bad, but not good either. In comparison the voxel distance in xy of a B9 is 0.03mm read ten times better. The feature size on the B9 will be somewhere between .1 and .15 mm.

Be carefull with reviews, many people testing 3d printers come from other fields of expertise, so they might find the quality great, but just haven't seen what other printers can deliver.

Many reviews and comparisons are done without the "tester" ever having laied hand on the printer(s) or even a printout. Printers have a learning curve and you have to spend some time with a printer to get the best result. Something most testers don't have.

Also the technology is changing fast and you can't stay uptodate on every detail. So some things will be repeated again and again despite the fact that they are obsolete.

Look for forums where people discuss the printers, their use and problems and where you can see samples of what people can do.

Keep in mind that people without problems usually post less than peoples with problems.

Look how fast people get help on the forum.

I for one am sceptic of an manufacturer who has no open forum, I always suspect he has something to hide - but that's just a personal quirk.

Best find somebody willing to print you a sample of one of your designs. Decide on how you like the result and remember that you have to be satisfied by the print quality, print speed and handling. No need to pay fore something youdo not need.

[warkmal]

I have the same question with you, I know B9 and form1+ are all good, but they are too expensive for me. I recently find another printer, XYZprinting Nobel, it is only 1499, I just don't know how it performance. But according to some review it looks not bad.

Has anybody here looked at the LittleRP or better yet have experience building it?